Puppy Feeding

Animals in a litter should be watched carefully to see that they are allgetting enough milk. When they are a few days old they can starve in avery short time. Frequently old dog have some teats so large thatthe young will suck from the side or be unable to suck at all Theysometimes have to be helped so that they can find the teats smallenough for them.

A healthy puppy struggles in your hands, attempting to find theproper environment for survival, namely, its littermates and its moth - er's breasts. Sick puppies are noisy puppies until they become so weakthey are limp to the touch and have little strength when picked up.Hungry puppies are also noisy. The litter cries a pathetic chorus as itseeks food, and if the mother has inadequate milk a puppy nurses on anipple, releases it, and tries for another, crying between efforts.If the litter is a large one and all the puppies are to be raised by themother, remove half the puppies as they arc born by stealing themaway without the dam's knowing what is being done. Stroke her headand, as you cover her eyes with your hand, quickly take a puppy andplace it behind you in a box. This can usually be done most easily whilethe bitch is giving her attention to the latest arrival. On the other hand, it is possible to wait until all the pups are born and then take halfof them away. The mother cannot count and will he content with thepuppies you leave, provided the absent ones are placed so far away thatshe cannot hear them.

The two groups of puppies can be switched for feeding every two orthree hours for the first few days and every four hours for the next few.To have them grow satisfactorily, however, you must change them atnot more than five - hour intervals.

If the dam's milk is infected or insufficient, or if she is nervous andeven seems afraid of her pups, it may be necessary to feed them from abottle or by stomach tube. Supplementary feeding may also be advis - able if the dam has too large a litter.

Bitches' milk is naturally slightly acid. Many people blame the deathof puppies on acid milk, but they should look for other causes. If aformula is used as a substitute, do not try to modify cow's milk so thatit approximates the chemical composition of human milk, even thoughyou have read that this should be done. Bitches' milk is not at all likehuman milk. It has more fat, less sugar, more protein, and more ash.Most of the old formulas advise adding limewater, glucose, or dextrose.These formulas, however, are modified in precisely the wrong direction.

There are specially prepared modified milks on the market today forpuppies. If these are unavailable in your neighborhood, try one of thespray - dried baby milks. Mix one ounce with six ounces of water byvolume and add one ounce of fresh cream. This can make a stock solution which serves admirably, although it is high in sugar. Keep thesolution refrigerated. It should be shaken and warmed before being fedto the puppies.

If a 20 - gauge hypodermic needle is inserted through the hub of the nipplenext to the bottle's lip, the air can run in while the puppy is suckingand the nipple will not collapse. Start with two small holes and increasethe size of the holes if the puppy is not able to suck wills enoughstrength to withdraw the formula.

If there are more than three puppies, the stomach tube method ispreferred as a time saver. The formula is drawn into a syringe attachedto a premature human infant stomach tube. Before inserting the tubedown the puppy's throat hold it alongside the puppy so that the tip isjust behind the rib cage. With the puppy's head extended, mark thetube at the puppy's nose. This will be the mark to reach before inject - ing the formula. Such a tube is premarked for humans but disregardthat mark. Insert the tube down the throat until the pup swallows andthen pass it until your mark is even with the nose and inject the for - mula and withdraw the tube.

There are two dangers to avoid. First, if the tube is introduced intothe windpipe, or trachea, it can be inserted only halfway. If formula isinjected into the lungs the result will be death. Second, if the end ofthe tube is not down into the stomach some of the injected formulawill follow the tube back up to the entrance of the trachea where thepuppy may inhale it and die a few days later.

The overzealous owner decides a young puppy should have supple - mental feeding, purchases a bitch's milk substitute, and administers itwith a bottle and nipple - usually with poor results. There is no milksubstitute that tastes to a puppy like its mother's milk and Ilse puppy will often refuse it. If the puppy's mouth is forced open and a nipple isplaced in it, the puppy will usually chew it, fighting to resist the un - usual flavor. Some of the formula may be inhaled with disastrous resultssince mechanical or foreign body pneumonia may result, and for thesethere is little effective treatment.

There is an obvious way to determine if puppies are not able to getenough milk from their mother and that is to hear them crying be - tween trying one stipple after another. When hungry enough they willthen take a formula with gusto. Massy females have little milk for aboutsix hours after whelping but an adequate amount thereafter.

The supplementary milk must be close to body temperature at first.Even five or six degrees of variation in either direction will inhibitsucking. Feed the puppies before returning them to their mother. Atfirst puppies will take about i cc of milk for each ounce of weight. Youcan increase the amount proportionately as they grow. They most benursed at least four times a day if they are to thrive, and five times aday is preferable.

Since young puppies are stimulated to urinate and defecate by theirmother's licking, a puppy fed by other means than its mother must bestimulated by gently rubbing the genitals with cotton after each feed - ing. They may not defecate but will urinate at each feeding with theproper stimulation.

When puppies reach as little as three weeks of age their mother doessomething for them of which many people strongly disapprove - sheeats food, lets it partially digest, and then vomits it for them to eat.This is their first natural food. The mother's actions are probably underhormone control. Do not be alarmed if you witness this phenomenon.Learn a lesson from it and start supplying the little pups with solid,easily digestible food at this time. There are several puppy foods on themarket specifically formulated for the requirements of this period ofexplosive growth just as there are human baby foods geared to theneeds of children. If such food is not available, offer the pups cookedmeat and cereal foods. Concoct a stew of ingredients such as protein,lots of vegetable matter, and fat. Let it cool, then watch them eat it!The addition of such foods to the puppies' diets spares the mother theburden of furnishing huge amounts of milk, and she is thereby kept ingood condition.